Hlabisa lauds IFP independence at 50th anniversary celebrations in Soweto

By Johnathan Paoli

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) president Velenkosini Hlabisa told supporters at the party’s 50-year celebrations in Soweto this weekend that despite being in the Government of National Unity, it remains true to its mandate of integrity and serving citizens.

Addressing supporters and dignitaries at the Jabulani Amphitheatre, Hlabisa said the party’s story “has been one of resilience, service and integrity,” and spoke to half a century of endurance throughout South Africa’s transformative political era.

“The IFP remains undiluted. The IFP remains with its identity. The IFP remains within the GNU, not serving any political party but representing the people of South Africa,” he said.

Founded in 1975 by Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi amid the turbulence of apartheid, the party was largely written off as a political relic confined to rural areas of KZN after a bruising split in 2011 that saw the formation of the National Freedom Party.

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